Allergies, Annoyance, Alliteration, & Acceptance

Well, I (finally) received a response from my Allergies, Annoyance, and Alliteration email. Out of all the places that I emailed… only one response. How sad. They must have all deemed me a little too crazy… Even Helene below just passed me on to Charlotte.

While I do this all for amusement, it’s cool to see some cities & organizations tackling this issue. It seems like they’re a lot more tough on these sorts of things in Canada than they are down here. Perhaps I should again bug the government… It’s not like they have anything better to do. Right?

Thank you for sharing your experiences with Subway. They are but a microcosm of the retail restaurant world. Your query about training “in the ways of sanitary work stations, cross contamination, allergens, and general good hygiene” has not been lost on policy makers in some localities. New York City and St. Paul, Minnesota have enacted laws to promote food allergy awareness and ingredient transparency this year. Both laws require an awareness poster to be displayed in the employee area of restaurants and a flier displaying photos of the 8 major allergens in the US and common items that can cause cross contamination (see below). These laws are not perfect, but they are a start brought about by advocates like you who voice their outrage. Keep it up and be sure to let your local and state lawmakers know of your concerns.

Charlotte Collins

St. Paul Ordinance food allergy poster designed Hospitality Minnesota, St. Chamber of Commerce, and the Anaphylaxis & Food Allergy Association of Minnesota (AFAA).

Please see my experience with Subway’s lack of concern for allergens and cross-contamination highlighted below, surrounded by their ensuing lack of customer service/respect. Their final unapologetic apology can be viewed on my blog.

I find their lack of concern quite disturbing. What can be done to make companies like this more aware of these issues that can be deadly for a certain percent of the population?

While shellfish is surely simple to sidestep, what about my peeps that are petrified by peanuts, terrans that are terrified by tree-nuts, friends that are fearful of fish, my mates that are mired by milk, my sidekicks that are scared of soy, or my well-wishers that are weary of wheat?

Thank you in advance for your time, and I hope you have a safe & happy Thanksgiving holiday!